Issue No. 24                                                                      May 2014

"Wellness" has become a buzzword among the public, health care practitioners and legislators alike. But what exactly does it mean, and how can people benefit from it?

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) defines wellness as "an active process that promotes health and enhances quality of life."

"With the enactment of health care reform legislation, the public is going to hear more and more about the importance of wellness, staying healthy and ultimately reducing health care costs caused by chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes," says ACA President Dr. Rick McMichael. "It's time for people to understand that they have the power to take charge of their health and be well enough to do the activities they enjoy."

Finding a wellness coach
If you're interested in health and wellness, a good place to begin is by talking about it with a doctor of chiropractic. Doctors of chiropractic (DCs) are known for their expert care of back pain, neck pain and headaches, and offer patients a variety of conservative recommendations and counseling on general health and wellness.

You may ask, "What can a doctor of chiropractic offer that is different from a medical doctor?" The answer lies in the way the two professions approach wellness. To achieve "wellness" in traditional terms, a medical doctor will simply screen you for diseases. You might be examined or have lab tests. For medical doctors, wellness is about staying ahead of diseases.

DCs, on the other hand, will screen you for diseases, but will also talk to you about your lifestyle and behaviors that may put you at risk for injury or illness. The chiropractic's approach is drug-free; instead of writing a prescription, a DC offers spinal adjustments, rehabilitative exercises, nutritional counseling and lifestyle modifications to move patients toward optimum function and wellness.

Typically, when a new patient visits a DC, one of the first things the doctor will assess is functional capacity. The DC will focus on decreasing pain and returning the patient to normal daily activities, including exercise. In the intermediate stage, a chiropractor will continue therapeutic care, but also begin to address factors that may have led to the patient's pain by recommending lifestyle modifications. Intermediate care might include managing the patient's obesity with counseling on diet and exercise. In the final stage of wellness care, a DC will help the patient take responsibility for his or her own health through patient education, enabling the person to independently maintain and even advance the level of wellness achieved. Read more here.

Long before his days as governor of California, before his acting career, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a bodybuilding champion who could boast 13 world titles. And as any world-class bodybuilder can tell you, the sport is hard on your musculoskeletal system.

Schwarzenegger was lucky enough to have his first encounter with chiropractic when he was training in the 1970s, and he has been a fervent supporter ever since.

Schwarzenegger's bodybuilding workout partner, Franco Columbu, began attending chiropractic college while they were training together. "Franco would go very intensely to chiropractic college every day," Schwarzenegger said. "He worked on me all the time. He got incredibly good with both the theoretical and the practical [elements of adjusting] ... every time I had an injury, I could call Franco ... I would get an adjustment, and the problem would be gone. So you know, when you see that happening in your own body, that with chiropractic you will be 100 percent, it's just fantastic."

As to skepticism about chiropractic's ability to treat pain without pain relievers, Schwarzenegger said, "They say, 'I can't believe that this can make me feel better just like that, without a shot, without drugs. . . .' It is amazing, and I have seen first-hand how it works."

Behind the epidemic of growing waistlines is another epidemic that gets little attention: the weakening of America.  Starting in our 40s, we lose about � pound of muscle per year, and gain at least that much in fat. Once we reach the age of 50, muscle loss accelerates.  This trend has become a major contributor to chronic illness and premature death in the United States.     

In 2008 the first ever Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans were issued.  These guidelines which are the most scientifically based of their kind can help Americans avoid the damaging effects of muscle loss.  The guidelines provide an evidence-based framework for recommending physical activity to prevent and manage chronic illness.  Since their release fitness professionals have been using the guidelines to help Americans live healthy lifestyles.  

Despite the attention the guidelines have received, most Americans are still sitting on the sidelines.  This is unfortunate given we spend billions of dollars to manage chronic illnesses that could easily be prevented.  For many Americans the medical treatment of diseases like diabetes carries significant costs yet doesn't always improve the quality of life.  

In an attempt to reverse this trend, the Surgeon General has urged all Americans to make physical activity a daily priority.  According to Dr. Steven Blair at the University of South Carolina, "As a treatment for chronic disease physical activity produces significantly better results than drug therapy or surgery - yet costs much less".  In other words, adding physical activity to your lifestyle can save you money while improving the quality of life.  Here's what you need to know to get started.    

Read the rest of the article here.